Mythocentric

I think you just mentioned one of the things I'm not looking forward to Jeff. Astronomy works better in winter when the low temperatures help combat ground level heat distortion. I'm glad I hung on to my Survival suit from my all-night fishing sessions now. And to think I always assumed that when anyone mentioned how cold it was in the great optical telescope establishments I always thought it was because of the altitude! Actually that is something I've debated over because DSLR's do not like extreme temperatures as I've occasionally found out over the years! That bright yellow Bantam reminds me of my good friend Paul back in our student days. Paul's favourite mode of transport was an old hard tail Velocette 500 which has been painted a somewhat stunning Blush Pink. He always claimed it was Post Office Red on acid! He was a common sight riding around town in his brown leather flying helmet and jacket. He was also given to designing the sort of chairs which the Spanish Inquisition would have been proud of. Strangely, he went on to become headmaster at one of the countries leading Grammar Schools! Strange days indeed! Regards Bill

I can assure you Jock that Vinnie's AJS was indeed a 7R. I was dating his sister Teresa at the time and first saw the bike at Rod Lovelock's, a keen club racer and original owner, who gave up his budding racing career on his marriage to open his shop. Vinnie purchased the bike and I watched and occasionally helped as Rod and Vinnie brought it up to road spec, losing very little in the way of performance in the process. Regards Bill

Hi Jeff and all! Still three or four weeks away from my own 'kaleidoscope' so here is a model. It's an artists impression of my ex mother-in-law making her last lunar transit a few days before the RAF shot her down in the vicinity of Pendle Hill. Enjoy! Regards Bill EDIT: The stupid thing posted before I'd finished so here's the interesting bit! The moon is actually a 3D model, one of a number produced by NASA themselves over the years of which I have quite a few, including Hubble, Soyuz, Space Shuttle, etc. Sadly, they have now withdrawn the page as being out-dated (and just before I downloaded the ISS!) Perhaps they're going to release a new, updated moon with the terra-forming and hidden alien bases! Cue X-files!

Ditto! I can see now why you gave it all up for a life of railway modelling and the pursuit of sausages Clive! Regards Bill

Never mind the mice Jeff! Where's the Man in the Moon? I've been trying to make that out for years and I still haven't managed it! Regards Bill

The same guy, Vinnie, also owned an AJS 7R 350. Now that thing could shift (and handle!). It carried the numberplate RED 10 which gave him his nickname! I only ever rode it once but, boy, did it put my Tiger Cub out of the frame! My own personal favourite during my short biker career was my Ducati 500. Lovely machine with the typical (for the time) flashy Italian paint job! Fast and responsive, if a little 'twitchy' at the back sometimes. Not that I ever pushed it that hard being rather fond of my skin. Sad to say, it met its demise when some clown, who worked for the local bike shop, Lovelock's where I'd left it for tuning, decided to try a fancy, racing jump start on it, fell off and watched it collide at full throttle with a nearby wall. The damage would have cost more to repair than I paid for the bike in the first place so after a lot of haggling with his boss I ended up with a nice little Mini Cooper in it's place. I've never ridden two wheels since! Regards Bill

Speaking of five-barred gates a mate of mine, Vinnie, once owned a Harley-Davidson 'Electra-Glide'. Sounded brilliant and superb performance! Well in a straight line! Try cornering at anything faster than a brisk walking pace and it was 'Hello Hospital!'. Trying to make them handle like British bikes was the reason behind the 'choppers' and 'hogs' ethos which swept America back in the day. Interestingly at the same time British motorcycles were being pushed aside by their Japanese counterparts! Regards Bill

Ooops! Sorry about that! I did say I'd find out and to be honest I forgot all about it! Richard did mention that there was a father and son thinking about buying the business but it looks like that's gone by the board. Regards Bill

No sweat Andrew! It is true about the Pennine's though. The weird stuff that goes on up there makes the mysterious Himalaya's look like something out of a Julie Andrews film! For instance, did you know that the bit between Yorkshire and Lancashire is the only place in the world where you will see that unique human genetic modification known as 'English Knee's'? It's what makes people in those parts really good at hill-walking because it means that they are bandy-legged AND knock-kneed all at the same time! Trouble is, it also makes them particularly susceptible to alien abduction because they can't run for toffee! (Unless they're heading downhill of course, which is why the aliens always land in the valleys and lurk!). Now! Why did Jeff wake up with a smile on his face? I'm thinking a certain person driving across a lonely, desolate windswept moor. He stops at the crest of a hill and gets out of the car to take in the view. Not a soul in sight to disturb the peace, just the sound of the wind sighing across the grass and a curlew crying in the distance. He turns to get back into his car. Just then the lovely Julia steps out from behind a drystone wall wearing a low-cut leopard skin cagoule, army surplus shorts and a slinky face. They gaze deep into each others eyes ............................................................Right! That's enough of that. We'll have no smut on here thank you very much! :nono: Regards Bill

Morning Jeff! It's hard work crossing time zones isn't it? Especially when it involves crossing the Pennines! There's some strange things happen around them places you know, especially if you listen to the Goon Show's like 'In Search Of The Yorkshire Yeti'. Makes me shiver just to think about it! Have a nice day! Bill

OK Here goes! 1. I've yet to meet a builder who can work a full five days (if that) much less seven so this ones out! 2. Steven Hawking's is a genius. Not only can he explain the Big Bang, he can probably tell you what time it started and the names of the young ladies who attended! 3. Cyril Freezers track plans never fit into the allocated space so he's out too! Have fun! I don't watch usually TV so I can't really comment, however I did watch the 'Funniest Commercials' clip which followed Jeff's video and the Fluffy the Seal advert for Shark Week had me in stitches! Cruel git aren't I? Incidentally, didn't the Old Rutlishians (PeterBB) turn up on Star Trek once, or am thinking of Romulan's? Regards Bill

A timely post Dave and one that prompted an interesting discussion on an otherwise quiet Sunday! As Jeff pointed out 'In the face of future evidence the theory/idea/hypothesis may have to be modified/rejected - and a good scientist embraces this concept'. A sound idea and, of course, I shall hold my hand up should I prove to be in error! An added bonus being that no one has mentioned That Which Cannot Be Named Discussed so I guess we've learned something! Regards Bill (currently hiding behind the settee in case of sightings of a certain hairy creature in my immediate vicinity!)

Hi Jeff (or Unknown Entity), Don't you dare stay out of it. I was hoping that you could present your views as the chap with proven credentials as the 'insider' so to speak, or at least provide a degree of plain old common sense and rationality! (Or at the very least distract Shaun in case I've upset him by questioning his existence!) I do agree with you about the "conspiracists" from my own experience! Not long ago I heard from a woman (in Morecambe) who had reported a UFO sighting over the Bay. I pointed out that what she had seen was most probably the ISS (the timing and location tallied with my own sighting). In reply I got a stream of obscenities and invective which amounted to "That's the trouble with you know-it-all's, you're always trying to spoil it for real people!" It sometimes crosses my mind that, in some ways, they are seeking some kind of belief in which to place their faith in the face of an increasingly-fragmented religeous ethos. However, that's a whole other can of worms which I'm NOT going to investigate! Anyhow! Good to see you back and trust you had a pleasant time at your dad's! Regards Bill

You know Clive, that did cross my mind when I was writing the post and I almost added a "Sorry Shaun" note by way of apology. I was going to suggest that he send us a (blurry) picture of his good self stomping through the woods as proof positive but he already has in his avatar! That's good enough for me. Anyway, you must admit it's way better than him coming over and pulling my head off which would be a somewhat painful alternative! Regards Bill

Science is based on theory which is then tested by repeated experiment to either prove (or disprove) that theory. The results are then published for peer review and for those peers in turn to test the theory by additional experiment and investigation. A process which frequently takes a long time before that theory becomes generally accepted as ‘fact’. I would suggest that there is an abundance of proof in support of the scientific method rather than against it! In real terms the TV you watch, the radio you listen to, the car you drive, the appliance which cooks your food, the medical treatment you receive should you become ill and the very computer you made your post on, amongst many other accepted parts of your life, were all provided by the application of science! In fact there is only one branch of science which is based purely on theory (so far) and that is that of Exobiology! Can you apply that same level of enquiry to UFO’s, the secret civilisation hidden under the north pole, bigfoot (and a plethora of other fantastic creatures!), ghosts, etc., or ever seen any definite proof of their existence? I can’t answer your statement that hindsight isn’t evidence for the simple reason that I didn’t understand the point you were trying to make! Perhaps we should all return to the days of the 16th Century when scientists like Giordano Bruno*** was burned at the stake by the church for proving that the Earth wasn’t the centre of the universe! Regards Bill *** Incidentally Bruno also proposed that the sun was a star like any other, that the stars probably had orbiting exoplanets and that many of those planets probably contained life, so that’s not such a new idea either!

I have to wonder sometimes Duncan if Jeff wasn’t so far away with his remark a while back as to whether we’d discovered intelligent life on earth yet! My current favourite is on the NASA Facebook*** page where they are about to celebrate the fact that the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, one of the longest serving vehicles, is close to completing its 60,000th orbit around Mars on the 23rd of June. The article is headed by an artist’s impression of the vehicle in orbit and amongst the congratulatory messages is a rant from someone asking how we can all be so stupid and gullible? His reasoning? Its all fake right back to Apollo and the proof is right there in the picture because the Odyssey couldn’t possibly have taken a ‘selfie’! Perhaps Roger Waters was right when he sang that “this species has amused itself to death!” ***I know I’m naughty. I’ve signed up again to follow NewHorizons! That looks pretty mean bud! Take care of yourself Andy. We definitely don't want any barbecued Lunester's! Regards Bill

Seeing as its Sunday I thought I’d provide a bit of light entertainment in the form of this video from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEnBtY4oDuM It’s called Mars-Unmasking The Coverup and ‘proves’ that NASA are falsifying the images from Mars in order the hide the ‘truth’ that the planet is in fact not red at all, but terraformed and occupied by other lifeform’s. Interestingly enough the poster uses Photoshop and its false-colour abilities, so beloved of the digital art community, to 'correct' the colours in order to prove it! (Which should give you a clue as to this guy’s mental state!). There is a second part which shows the cities, the entities and a comparison with earth: Mars Unmasking The Cover Up - Part 2 ( The Cities, Earth Comparison, The Entities ) but to be honest, I was laughing so much after half of part 1 I gave up trying! Coming soon! (in around a month probably) Pluto-The Real Truth Behind The Coverup, which will no doubt depict a strange humanoid-mouse hybrid uttering strange, celestial statements like, “Hey Pluto! How ya doin’ Boy?” Probably in a squeaky helium voice I suspect! The Truth Is Out There (Or Not)! Bill

As was my reply! Perhaps we've all had a long, stressful day like Andrew. Time for a rest perhaps? Regards Bill

Funny you should mention that because there's one of those 'naughty' shops just around the corner from The Train Shop! All the usual accoutrements for an 'interesting' life (so I'm told!***) but unfortunately no wet lettuce (***ditto) so Andrew's going to be disappointed! Still! There's always the Festival Market! Now you've done it John! I already spend most of the night either working on my pictures or pouring over the various NASA missions so this one should take care of the couple of hours I usually reserve for beddy-byes! Fascinating stuff indeed and a good find! Regards Bill

Richard has decided to close the shop and, in his own words, "take some time out and enjoy myself while I'm still young enough!". He was actually planning to close up at the end of May and had already reduced his stock considerably the last time I was in. He did tell us sometime before Christmas last and asked us to keep it quiet because he "didn't want a fuss". I'm not sure if he's still there, but I'm passing through town on my way to my daughters tomorrow so I'll pop around and find out! One things for sure is that I'll miss our conversations both about the prototype, on which he had a vast amount of knowledge, and music for which we both share a great love. A real natures gentleman in many ways, (although he didn't suffer fools lightly) and I wish both Richard and his wife all the very best for the future! Regards Bill

I believe so! I suspect the use of the word 'cannon' was a bit of journalese on the part of the reporter in an attempt to put the professors views in layman's terms for a general public in an age when the 'cutting' edge' of technology was in radio, electricity and aviation, all of which were still pretty much in their infancy. The magazines and newspapers of the time were full of advertisements recruiting people to train in those fields! (i.e. Generally the biplane was still considered to be the future of avionics rather than the much less common monoplane which were still something of an experiment!). When I mentioned the method, I was thinking more in terms of the staged launch vehicles in use today. I can't imagine anything powerful enough to lift the good professors vehicle unless Jeff would be willing to contribute some of his Nuclear Rabbit Repellents! Incidentally, the other chap I mentioned, Harlow Shapley, went on to become one of the founders of the Cosmic Evolution Model which is generally accepted today. Perhaps Jeff would like to contribute his view? Again I have a copy of the address he gave outlining his (Shapley's) views which I'll post if anyone is interested! See also 'Cosmos and Culture' by Stephen K. Dick & Mark l. Lupisella available to download from the NASA website! Regards Bill

It was an amazing period with more than its fair share of visionaries, not surprising I suppose given that the world was just recovering from a world war and people were actually looking forward again! Ten years earlier Harlow Shapley had worked out the size of the Milky Way and our sun’s place in it using Cepheid variable stars by determining their distance and locations. Strangely enough he also believed that the Milky Way was the Universe and that other galaxies, etc. were part of it! His views caused great controversy amongst his peers until Edmund Hubble (whom Shapley dismissed as a ‘junk scientist’) determined the actuality. In the thirties he also proposed that the scientific community collaborate on establishing laboratories 4 miles deep into the earth’s crust (using existing deep mines as a starting point) to aid geological studies. In passing he added that they could also serve to study exotic particles passing through the earth. Sad to think that within a few years the world would be plunged into war again. Even so, I have to wonder if, without that great motivator of technological advances, we would have made so much rapid progress. Our ventures into space, for example are largely based on principles produced by WW2 and its aftermath. There’s a book called ‘Coming Home’ by Roger D. Launius and Dennis R. Jenkins available as a free download from the NASA website which gives an excellent overview of the subject and is essential reading. As an aside UFO buffs will recognise many familiar shapes which will, hopefully but probably not, cause some disillusionment to some of the more extreme fanatics! Stapledon’s ‘First and Last Men’ is on my shortlist of books to read soon, together I must admit, with Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. More Super-Science? Regards Bill PS: Incidentally, if anyone is in need of an e-book reader/converter (edit: to use on your PC!) I can highly recommend Calibre here: http://calibre-ebook.com/

Given New Horizons imminent arrival at Pluto, I thought you might like this magazine article from 1931: I wonder what Professor Stewart would have made of our progress today! I think he would have been delighted that his prediction was correct if not the method! TO THE MOON The prediction that man will fly to the moon within the next 100 years was made by John Q. Stewart, associate professor of astronomical physics at Princeton University, in a recent address at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. The first obstacle to be overcome is that of developing a speed of 25,000 miles an hour, the professor said, which means production of fuels more powerful than coal, gasoline, dynamite or any other source of energy now available. Such remarkable progress has been made in the speed of passenger carrying vehicles in the last century that scientists believe that a speed of 1,000 miles per hour will be reached in 1950 and 50,000 an hour will be surpassed before the year 2030, a century from now. The one theoretically feasible method of making the journey to the moon, Stewart believes, is a vehicle propelled on the principle of the rocket. He visions a ship built in the form of a large metal sphere—110 feet in diameter, weighing 70,000 metric tons and carrying a crew of sixty and a dozen scientists. A dozen or more cannon would protrude slightly from the surface, shooting material the rate of 200 miles a second. A half hour or so before noon and about three days before a new moon, Stewart would head his ship toward the sun, expecting it to rise twelve miles in the first six minutes and to soar out of the earth's atmosphere at 200 miles per hour. Two hours and 29 minutes after the take-off the firing from the lower cannon would be stopped with the ship going upward, the professor estimates, at 190 miles per minute and having reached a height of 13,200 miles. Seventy hours later, crossing the moon's orbit, Stewart would fire the forward cannon and the ship would coast around the moon, becoming the temporary satellite of a satellite. "The rest would be easy," said Stewart, "owing to the lesser gravity of the moon. The cannon would be fired to cushion the fall to the moon as the ship was gradually sucked toward the satellite. "The moon is airless, waterless and lifeless, days and nights are two weeks long, temperatures range from that of boiling water at noon down perhaps to that of liquid air at midnight. The men of the ship would walk on the moon clad in diving suits. Gravity being only one-sixth that of the earth, a man would carry several hundred pounds of apparatus for providing air and for regulating the temperature. "To leave the moon the ship would fire her rear cannon and coast back to earth. By firing its forward cannon it would cushion its landing on the earth, which would have to be made on a desert, because of the tremendous charges the cannon would fire." Regards Bill

Late night Allan? Not still sticking slates on I hope! Regards Bill

If she's anything like the ex-mother in law Clive it probably means she split off from the main branch back in the Jurassic Period with the theropod dinosaurs like T-Rex and Velociraptor! Regards Bill